GERD affects millions of people around the world. Each of us has a story of when we were diagnosed, how we dealt with it and how we are doing now. We can learn from each other and its nice to know we’re not alone. I’ll post my story. Please share yours by commenting on this post.
I probably had GERD for a year before I was diagnosed. I think it started as a combination of job stress, overeating, poor diet and the loss of a loved one. All of those situations led to a weight gain, too. In April of 2008 I went to an ENT about a sinus problem. After looking in my nose, the doctor said I had GERD. When he explained what it was I honestly thought he was crazy. I had never had any symptoms. I later learned I had, it was just that I didn’t recognize sleep apnea, morning sore throats and congestion as symptoms of GERD.
In June of 2008 I began having a dull, achy full feeling right below my breastbone. I felt slightly nauseous and my stomach was bloated. I used antacids, but they only helped a little. I tried Prilosec but it didn’t do anything. The final straw was when I was at a business conference I ate a big breakfast. Afterwards I leaned over to pick up my briefcase and my stomach contents came up into my throat and mouth. Needless to say I was shocked. I made it through the rest of the meetings that day and called my gastroenterologist for an appointment. She had me schedule an upper endoscopy. The findings were 2 bleeding ulcers (yikes!) and mile erosive GERD. I’ve been on Zegerid since the second week in July to heal the ulcers and help reduce the stomach acid effect on the esophagus. It helped a little. But, got much better after I got my diet under control and implemented the Lifestyle Changes listed here on my blog. I still have good and bad days, usually related to high stress or goofing up on my diet.
The doc says that once the ulcers are healed the GERD should get a little better because they can cause the slowing down of stomach emptying which results in GERD. I have high hopes for that. I go October 3rd for a repeat endoscopy to see if the ulcers have healed.
Eating With GERD 
I have very frequent heartburn for which I have taken Prilosec for the last year. It works great for the heartburn, however, lately have been having some very undesirable side effects. I am exploring ways I can change habits to get rid of this. I hope we can pool information together.
GERD or gastro esophageal reflux disease doesn’t have to ruin your life. There are a number of effective treatments available, from medications to surgery. Don’t let the problem take over. Recently approved by the FDA, a new technology called plicator procedure is being used to achieve better results without major surgery. To know more about the process visit the link below click here, read more about New GERD Procedure